Beer Hunter Cocktail Wins Bärenjäger Competition

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More evidence that beer cocktails are still a big thing, a libation called the Beer Hunter has won the fourth annual national Bärenjäger Bärtender Competition. The contest, sponsored by Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur, crowned Naomi Levy of Cambridge, MA the Queen Bee on Sept. 16.

Levy, the second consecutive female champion, took home $1,000 and an all-expense paid trip for two to Berlin Germany for her innovative concoction. What’s more, the Audience Choice cocktail this year was a cider drink called the Good Ice. Its creator, Jessica Dure from Brooklyn, NY, received $1,000 for her winning entry.

The 2013 Bärenjäger Bärtender Competition judges included Dushan Zaric , founder of award-winning cocktail bars Employees Only and Macao Trading Co; Jim Meehan, a managing partner of PDT in New York and author of The PDT Cocktail Book; Sean Kenyon , a third generation barman and proprietor of Williams & Graham in Denver; and Tricia Alley , the director of mixology for Southern California at Southern Wine and Spirits and USBG LA Chapter President. The celebrity guest judge was That 70’s Show TV series actor Wilmer Valderrama (shown above with Levy and Dure).

Cocktail entries had to include at least 1/2 oz. Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur or Bärenjäger Honey & Bourbon as an ingredient. Both recipes, included below, naturally incorporate Bärenjäger, a 70-proof honey liqueur, is made in Germany from neutral grain alcohol and premium honey from Mexico and imported by Sidney Frank Importing Company. Here are the two winning recipes.

Good Ice

Combine all ingredients except Cidre de Normandie. Dry shake. Add ice and shake. Double strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Add cider to the large tin containing the remaining ice. Give it a quick swirl and double strain into coupe to top. Garnish with angostura and a thin lemon wheel dropped in.